Half Life 2: Civil Unrest
by EliteCombine
Summary: Chapter 4 up, finally. Sorry about the wait. Is still about what happened in the week of Gordon's and Alyx's absence. Reading and Reviewing would be nice.
1. Prologue

**Civil Unrest**

**Prologue**

1410 HOURS NOVA PROSPEKT

"Gordon! It's recharged, let's go!" yelled Alyx Vance

Gordon ducked under a Combine soldier's blow and unloaded his last shotgun shell into its face, it's head exploding by the force of the shell and showered the soldier behind it with gore, just before the bloodied soldier got shredded by turret fire, leaving it's body dancing underneath the force of the shots long after the body was dead.

A stray shot disabled the turret and Gordon saw a group of Combine come running down the hall, so he primed a grenade and threw it down the hall and then ran to the Combine Teleporter. He was rewarded with the sounds of an explosion and the splatter of blood hitting the walls.

"Tight fit," commented Alyx dryly as Gordon got in and the energy field came down and the teleport

platform started rising. Combine soldiers started to pour into the room and there was a flash and the roof started to cave in. But it was too late, Alyx and Gordon were gone.

O413 HOURS THE TRAIN STATION

Ada Boracovich and Leon Gant were strapped to chairs, back-to-back, their faces bloodied but defiant as Civil Protection 'interrogated' them. The two CP's started to get impatient and they powered up there shock sticks.

Ada, a cute, blond German woman of about 28 , who is slim but strong and was a major in the German Army, cracked.

"We don't know anything!" screamed Ada

"You were found at a resistance base that you rebels call 'Station 12'" droned the CP.

"We're not re-," replied Ada

The CP's obviously lost there patience with them and they raised there shock sticks but then they powered them down and cocked there heads, listening to their radios, then they went to the security station. The door to the interrogation room opened and another CP walked in, raised his sidearm and fired twice.


	2. Someone on the Inside

**Chapter 1:  **Someone on the Inside

0414 HOURS THE TRAIN STATION

Both shots hit the two other CP's in their heads and they dropped immediately, like puppets with their strings cut . Then, the rebel CP rushed towards them and pulled off their bonds.

"Wha..." started Leon.

Leon a man of about 30, with a Caucasian complexion, shoulder-length brown hair and a muscular physique, was shocked by the CP's actions.

The CP pulled off his helmet and there staring at them was Barney.

"Barney!" cried Ada as she flung her arms around him, "What are you doing her-"

Barney cut her off, "We're getting out of here."

He relieved the corpses of there sidearms and threw them to them, while explaining, "Gordon and Al-"

"Gordon! Gordon Fre-" ventured Ada

"Shut up!" hissed Leon, "Keep going Barney."

"As I was saying," continued Barney, "Gordon and Alyx broke into Nova Prospekt to rescue Eli Vance and inflicted major damage to the Combine by knocking out their main teleporter. Let's go."

"Go where?" questioned Leon

"We're going to disable the generator." Replied Barney, as he put on his helmet.

"We are?" exclaimed Ada

10 MINUTES LATER

Ada and Leon, handcuffed, were being led down towards the cells by a CP, but instead of taking a right towards the cells, they took right towards the generator.

"Okay," whispered Barney, in a dull, artificial voice that most civilians feared. "We've got about 1-,"

"Barney." whispered Ada

"What!" exclaimed Leon

"Look!" pointed Ada

Down the end of the hall was the shadow of a Combine Elite Solider (CES).

"Crap," hissed Barney as he yanked them into a nearby cupboard.

The CES walked down the hall. "Quiet," whispered Barney. Ada clicked off the safety off her gun and accidentally elbowed Leon in the testicles. He involuntary let out a squeak of pain and the soldier's head snapped around. The CES started towards the door but didn't get the chance.

Ada fired her gun and the solider's head exploded, showering the wall behind him in blood.

"Bitch!" swore Barney as they eased their way out of the cupboard and he dragged the body into the cupboard. Leon bent down to examine the CES's weapon and saw it was a 'Desert Eagle' handgun, one that he had used in the US army, he pocketed it quickly.

Ada and Leon, uncuffed and each with a sidearm, were led into the generator room by Barney. Where they were stopped by a Combine soldier. "Wrong turn," commented Barney. The soldier spun Barney around and studied him and his prisoners.

"Guard 3648-D why aren't your prisoners……"

The guard eyes drifted over them, from Barney's helmet, the bulge in Leon pocket (from the gun) and the blood spatter over Ada clothes. Then he suddenly set off the alarm, just before Barney snapped its neck.

"Damn," exhaled Leon, " now there's going to be-."

An ear-splitting alarm racked the train station.

Ada picked up the solider's shotgun and shucked the shotgun's pump-action, "You two deal with the generator, I'll take the gatecrashers."

"So, how do we do this, Barney?" asked Leon, while peering at the security station, which showed the generator."

"We'll have to eliminate the guards, deactivate the shields and hope the reinforcements don't get through Ada," stated Barney, matter-of-factly.

"That's all?" commented Leon dryly.

Leon and Barney stood either side of the door, then Barney opened the door and rolled a grenade in and then he shut the door again. There was a thunderous explosion, and then Leon and Barney charged in.

Leon shot one guard in the head, then shot another in the chest.

Ada feverishly checked her shotgun again as the first Combine soldiers rounded the corner. She pulled the trigger and the first soldier's chest exploded, throwing him back into the second one.

The next group was more prepared. They rushed around the corner, guns blazing and a grenade was throw down the hall. Ada stared at the grenade in horror, then with no other choice she kicked the grenade back and the wall got a new paint job. She let rip both of the shotgun's barrels simultaneously and exploded two soldier's heads at once. She aimed the shotgun and pulled the trigger.

'_Click**'**_

'Fuck!' screamed Ada, and the Combine soldiers were getting closer, so she ran and took cover beside the door frame. A soldier ran through the doorway and Ada swung the shotgun like a cricket bat. It connected with the soldier's neck, breaking it, killing the soldier immediately. She grabbed the soldier's soldier MP7 sub-machine gun, flicked it to automatic

and opened fire on the rest of the soldiers, her fire stitching across the walls and across the line of soldiers, their chests convulsing under the hail of fire and they all dropped dead.

She sighed in relief, then she heard a buzzing sound and she turned towards the sound and about 20 manhacks come flying down the hall. She hit the door control and the door flew shut. 20 dents erupted in the door as it was hit.

Leon and Barney were fighting the last of the soldiers. Barney aimed his pistol and fired into a soldier's chest, it convulsed as the bullet pierced its' heart and it dropped. Barney spun around and came face-to-face with a shotgun.

"Don't **_fucking _**move," snarled the soldier. Leon started towards the soldier and it quickly unsheathed a pistol and aimed it at Leon's head.

The soldier's chest exploded outward in hundreds of splashes of red, which showered Barney in blood.


	3. Welcome to Hell

**Chapter 2: **Welcome toHell

1435 HOURS THE TRAIN STATION

Ada kicked the body aside and helped Barney up.

"Holy crap, that was close," sighed Barney, "OK, now we need to disable the generator."

He walked to the control panel and started typing commands. After a few minutes the generator's shields started to detract. "Leon, throw a grenade into the generator core."

Leon did that, "We've got 10 minutes to extraction and we're going try to rescue all the prisoners we can."

The grenade went off, the whole station was plunged into darkness.

Corporal Adrian Shepard was sitting in his cell thinking, _How was I sent 10 years into the future?_

_What is The Combine?_( so on, so forth), when

another person was thrown into the cell.

She was woman of asian appearance and her face was bloodied. "So, the combine got you as well, huh?" she questioned. "What the hell is the combine?" Adrian asked. "Your joking, right?" she replied skeptically, "you then must have being out of the loop for like 10 years."

Adrian's blank look obviously answers the question for her. "Fine what do you want to know?" she sighed. "What is City-17?" he replied.

"Hell"

Then the lights turned off and more importantly the force fields to their cells switched off. The CP's took notice to this and one walked into their cell, his MP7 aimed at them.

In the background screams and gunfire filled the silence.

"Don't move" said the CP and Adrian's female companion stood up. "I said don't move," said the CP as he walked over to her and forced her back down, his back turned to Adrian. "You should," said the CP his hand drawn back into a fist, "learn to respect-"

"_Crack!"_

The CP fell to his knees, his left leg broken. He was finished by a roundhouse kick to the head.

"Thanks," sighed the asian woman in relief," By the way I'm Tanya Ralos."

"Coporal Adrian Shepard, 81st Hazardous Environment Combat Regiment, US Army at your service."

"_Service?" _hissed Tanya, her eyes filled with anger, "listen, I don't care what _fucking _services you have, only if you can handle a gun."

"I can," replied Adrian, taken aback by her attitude.

Tanya's faces softened, "sorry, now let's get out of here."

They stepped out of the cell. "Look out!" someone yelled as 3 people collided into them.

"YOU WHAT!"

Governor Breen, it's not my fault," replied the Combine commander.

"Oh really? THAN WHOSE FAULT IS IT!" screamed Breen.

The Commander was taken aback by how angry the Governor was, of course he had been angry before, but never this angry.

"A pair of prisoners," the Commander started as he held up a hand to stop another outburst, "Helped," he paused, then continued "by a Civil Protection officer."

"A CP?" questioned Breen, after a moment thinking he answered, "Find them and kill them."

"Yes, sir," replied the Commander. Breen killed the connection. "bastard," snarled the commander.

"Ohhhhhh….." sighed Adrian and he pushed himself up off the ground and he went to help the others and he found himself face-to-face with a CP!

Quickly, Adrian pulled the sidearm from the guard's holster and aimed at his face.

"No!" someone yelled and a tough-looking woman blocked his aim.

"Adrian Shepard," said the CP, Adrian flicked off the safety. The CP pulled off his helmet, "You're the last person I expected to see here."

"Barney!" cried Adrian and pulled him into a swift hug. "What the hell is go-"

"No time, it's time for us to get out of here."

Barney shifted his gaze and noticed Tanya. "Tanya," he nodded. "Barney," Tanya replied.

Barney forced his way pass her.

"OK!" Barney yelled to the remainder of the prisoner's, "Here's the deal, we're from the resistance and we're getting everyone out of here, even if you like it or not.

As if on cue, the wall behind Barney collapsed as the view was replaced by several trucks with armour plating and machine guns mounted on the back.

"Calhoun!" yelled the driver of the lead APC, "Let's go! Heavy Combine reinforcements are on the way, including Striders."

"Fuck" whispered Barney. "OK!" he yelled to the crowd of prisoners, "If you want to come with us, let's go or you can go back to your cells."

The crowd surged forward to the APC's.

The prisoners had almost all got in the APC's, when the driver yelled out again, "Barney! The Mouse here says we've got about 1 min-"

The last of the prisoners had gotten in, when 4 large spider-like machines stepped into sight.

"FUCK! Go, _go, go!_" Barney yelled to the driver of the lead APC. The APC's started up and drove off, except Boris's "C'mon" he waved.

Leon, Ada, Barney, Adrian and Tanya all ran for the APC. They made it in as wall as the wall on the other side collapsed and Combine APC's came screeching in.

A/N- Next chapter could take a while to be posted, it hasn't been writen yet and I haven't been on the internet much. 'Till next time my dear Fans


	4. The needed Car Chase part

**Chapter 3: ** The Resistance

A/N- The APC's in this chapter are actually just small trucks with covered rear trays and accessibility from the rear tray to the driver cab. Just thought I'd clarify that.

1450 HOURS CANALS OF CITY-17

The Resistance APC's sped down the canal system surrounding City-17, with a large amount of Combine APC's giving them pursuit.

"What the fuck is going on, what the fuck are those things!" yelled Adrian hysterically, as 4 three-legged behemoths strode into view.

"Well, lets see," explained Tanya, with the air of a seriously pissed off teacher, she pointed to the Striders. "Those are Striders, their cannons can….," and as she said this, everything around the cannon of the strider seemed to bend and a beam of blue light flew out and hit the lead rebel APC and it crumpled inward then exploded outward.

"Well…….. I guess I don't have to explain that." She finished, smirking at the look of horror on Adrian's face.

"Tanya," Leon yelled and he threw a RPG Launcher to her.

"Adrian, get on that turret!" Adrian struggled to pull himself up and strapped himself to harness of the turret

It was a 7.62 mm GAU-17 Gatling Gun, a machine gun that was commonly used by the US Navy, it was hanging from the ceiling in a convenient way. He readied the gun and started firing. He kept aiming at the windscreens of them, but the bullets were just being absorbed by the glass, _"That's not glass! It's a force field." _He realized in shock.

The front of the lead combine APC suddenly exploded and the rest of it flipped over ass over end.

"Adrian!" yelled Leon, who was reloading his RPG "start fucking shooting at something or I will throw you the fuck out."

A Combine solider made the mistake of leaning out of a Combine APC and was dead as soon as Ada unslung her sniper rifle and loosed 1 sizzling round.

About 150 metres away, the Combine soldier was thrown of the APC, his head a mess of ragged flesh.

"Nice shot!"yelled Adrian, still firing at the APC's. A stream of bullets hit one of the front tires of the Combine APC and the tyre flew off, flipping the chassis into the path of two others APC's!

Adrian winced as the APC's collided. One hit the other and exploded on impact and the other flew over the top of the others and slammed straight into the legs of a strider, amputating two of the three legs.

The strider stood upright for a second before giving off something like a cry of pain and it collapsed onto the road in front of Boris's APC.

"This could be problematic," whispered Boris and he slammed his foot on the accelerator.

"Boris… what are you doi-," started Barney and his eyes widened in realization, "oh you crazy sonofa-."

The APC slammed into the carcass of the strider.

The air was filled with sounds of rent metal and the screech of tyres as the APC smashed through the head of the strider and came out the other side. But the Combine APC's weren't intimidated by this and followed them.

The number of rebel APC's were whittled down to half there original number by the strider's cannons and the Combine superior firepower.

"_APC 1, what being fucking massacred, have you even got a plan!" _yelled a British voice through the radio

Boris jacked his headphones in the CB radio "Guess" and before the person on the other could reply, pulled out his headphones, killing the signal. He looked at Barney, shook his head and said, "Fucking Brits, I think we know the answer to that question."

He was interrupted by the Mouse, she was a small female teenager, who handled the technicals of the APC, in the passenger seat moved her hands in complex patterns. Barney, who was watching was confused by this until he realised that it was sign language. "Oh _shit!_" exclaimed Boris as a dull throbbing noise became apparent.

Then, an Attack-Transport Chopper roared overheard, disgorging troops onto the canal walls, lines of fire from all enemy forces stitched across the road.

Then, the Chopper flew into an overhead position over the APC's and ropes trailed from the chopper's body.

"Oh, they are not that fucking _crazy_, are they?" yelled Ada.

Obviously, they were. Troops jumped out of the chopper onto the rebel APC's.

A couple of Combine troops from the APC's ahead slipped and fell off, their APC ran over them with a satisfying thump.

But one they missed latched onto the end of the APC with a piton from his armour and managed to stand up.

It made a peculiar sight, a Combine troop surfing on the road, his boot smoking, behind a Rebel APC!

In a couple of the APC's ahead, suppressed weapons were being shot, point blank, into the people in the APC's, starbursts of blood appearing on the windows and windscreens of the resistance APC's. Boris had to swear to avoid the Combine-controlled Rebel APC's.

The sucidal,road-surfing troop drew his sidearm, "Take that crazy fucker out!" yelled Barney, from the front of the APC, as a bullet from the troop ricocheted off the wall of the APC.

He turned around to see the chassis of a rebel APC in front flip, shredding glass, metal (amongst other things) in a kaleidoscope of colour; Boris had to swerve to avoid it, flinging the troop from his handhold as its head exploded in a mass off red.

Ada, her shotgun smoking watched the troop's body fade into the distance, "Bring it!" she spat.

The helicopter by now was hovering near the rear off there APC, which was a bad idea, with the 4 RPG's aimed at it.

"Ready?" yelled Leon "3,2,1, _FIRE!_" 4 contrails of smoke lanced out of the back of the APC, 1 hit the tail of the helicopter, sending it in an uncontrollable spin as the other 3 slammed into the remainder of the helicopters' body and with a slow grace it slammed into the ground, spewing parts, the rotor of the helicopter snapping off a proceeded to slice through a Combine APC. Massive loss of blood ensured.

In the drivers' cab of the APC, Mouse turned around and mouthed "Cool!"

The rest of the Combine APC's decided, it seemed, to cut there losses and retreat, but Boris wasn't fooled by this, there just had to be a reason.

"Mouse!" yelled Boris "what now?"

Mouse quickly signed something else.

"What's she saying?" Barney asked

"We've got Kill Teams on us," Boris replied

"Shit."

Kill Teams, children that were taken by the Combine at the start of their occupation of Earth and "enhanced" by technological and biological implants. They still were humans, but had access to the most advanced Combine technology; they were also far faster, stronger and resilient than normal humans and had a perfect 100 success rate.

Boris jacked in his headphones, "APC 4, repeat APC 4."

"_Yeah?_," replied the same British voice from before

"You wanted a fucking plan? Well here it is………"

As Barney was doing this, 400 metres back, several low-slung (actual) APC's jumped on the road and gunned off in pursuit.

A cold, heartless, artificial voice spoke, "We have them."

The group of Rebel APC's did a curious thing, all of them, except for one, drove into an alley way and a wall dropped down to cover the entrance. The other did a perfect 180 degree turn and accelerated back towards the Combine forces.

Boris's APC flew down the road while having abuse hurled at him. For example-

"Are you fucking crazy?'- Barney

"Motherfucker!"- Ada

"Well, someone's suicidal, aren't they?"- Tanya

The Combine APC's sped up as well. The Rebel APC was doing 100 km/h's and rising, when it came within 200 metres the Combine APC's opened fire.

Plasma bolts ripped through Boris's APC, punching through walls, floors and windscreen. A shot tore through Tanya's leg and another ripped through Leon's shoulder. Unnoticed by anyone, Boris convulsed as a multitude of plasma rounds pierced his chest.

Suddenly, the Rebel APC was in the clear, but instead of speeding up it started to slow.

"Yeah! Boris," Barney said as he shook him, but withdrew his hand, it was covered in blood. "Boris!" Barney yelled. Mouse checked his chest and shook her head. Barney looked at him, his chest perforated with a multitude of rounds.

"Yeah!" yelled Adrian as he walked in, then stopped short as he saw Tanya's leg, Leon's shoulder and finally Boris. "Ohhhhhhh, oh no, I'm so sorr-," started Adrian when he was interrupted by Ada screaming, "Oh FUCK!"

Everyone noticed where they were going, just as the APC launches itself through sir and splashed, with an airborne grace, into a full, swift-moving canal.

Everyone was sucked out of the APC, Tanya screaming because of coldness of the canal in the bullet wound while Leon grimaced and groaned. Barney going for Boris's corpse, but it was swept away with the current. It looked like they were going the same way……….

"Hey! You guys!" yelled a voice and they saw a group of rebels with a ladder, "Over here," yelled the same rebel.

They spent the next 4 minutes fighting the current and they finally reached the ladder. Tanya and Leon got up first hampered by their wounds, then Barney, Ada and Adrian. Mouse just grabbed the ladder when her hands slipped and she was swept away by the current, screaming.

"NO!" yelled Adrian "not anyone else!" he yelled, and running full tilt, he dived into the water and grabbed her. They were struggling back when the (barely) floating APC started to shift and flow down the canal, gathering speed and impacted with Adrian and Mouse. They stunned by the impact and went under and didn't surface again.

A/N: Ha Ha, Cliffy! It's my longest and the best, I reckon anyway. This shows no characters are invulnerable. 'Till next time!


	5. Rising Tide

**Chapter 4:** Rising Tide

A/N- I know it's been ages since my last update, I just ran out of ideas until last week, so here you readers go, have fun.

1540 HOURS CITY-17 SEWERS- SECTOR 56

"There was nothing you could have done, so don't beat yourself up about it"

Ada turned to face Leon, her shoulders slumped.

"I know, you're right, it's just that I feel that I could of-"

"Survivor's guilt."

Ada sighed, "Yeah, probably."

The sky thundered overhead as the group trudged in a sewer, knee-deep in god knows what, with rainwater sluicing in from the street.

Tanya, with her leg strapped and her hair lank and unkempt, limped into step next to Barney.

"Listen," she started, "I just want you to know that I-"

Barney sighed, "Tanya, just cut the crap, please, I'm not an idiot, and I know what you fucking did."

Ada, who overheard this last comment, muttered, "Oh shit."

With that, Tanya's heart rate quickened and she started to sweat, unnoticed in the pouring water from overhead.

Tanya, with her eyes wide, "Did?"

"Yeah, how you sold out the resistance, did you forget about that?"

Ada bumped into Ramirez, "uh-," She started.

"Ramirez." He helped.

"Yeah, Ramirez, can I trust you?" she asked.

"Of course you can." He answered.

"Good," she sighed, "because if Barney tries to hurt Tanya, can I trust you to protect her?"

'Why?"

"Can you just do that, for me?"

Ramirez, now disarmed by her looks and smile answered, "Well, yeah, uh, of course I can, ma'am."

She walked up further, and settled back into her place next to Leon.

A female rebel, Elaine, walked up next to Ramirez and whacked him on the back of the head

"You fucking idiot." She said.

"Ow!"

"So, were they captured" the Commander asked.

"Well, uh, they, well went " stammered Judder Page, a human adviser of the Combine, his body shaking, with his hair and clothes plastered to his body from the sudden torrential rain "over the e-"

"So you didn't." the Commander asked.

"I, ah, see." Judder's shoulders slumped, "no."

"BANG!"

The bullet went straight through Judder's heart, sending a large gout of blood, the dark, viscous liquid, splattering on the ground behind him, before it was washed away by the rain, like Judders life. He convulsed once, his life receding from his eyes, then fell limp on the ground, dead.

A combine soldier from Kill Team-4 came up to the Commander, "Sir, we have intelligence that our agent is now with the fugitives, and sir?" He said in the dull, autonomous voice all soldiers had, "and you might want to see this."

"While processing the accident we found this." The soldier threw forward a, of all things, an adolescent girl onto the ground in front of him.

Two Combine soldiers dragged the spluttering girl up, as she tried to shake the water out of her eyes.

"Little girl, what is your name?" the Commander asked.

She said nothing.

The Commander slapped her across the face, "What is your name?" he asked again.

Tears formed in the girl's eyes but she still said nothing, the commander fumed

Mouse stood there, held up, under the mercy of the Combine, helpless. _MY NAME IS KALI!! _Mouse yelled, but with her jaw locked up with fear and her eyes full of tears, she wouldn't, no, _couldn't _reply.

The Commander sunk his fist into her stomach.

"My………." This word came out in a rush, along with all the air in her lungs.

This word came out so softly that he almost missed it.

"C'mon girl, if you tell us we'll let you go."

Tears were running down the girls face, and her mouth was quivering, but she still didn't say anything.

The Commander gave up and raised his fist

The last thing Kali saw was a fist rushing towards her face, a blinding pain, then……………….nothing.

As Kali slumped forward in her captors grip, the Commander was giving orders, "Process and interrogate her at the Citadel…," the Commander thought for a moment, "Then place her in the Enhancement Project.

"Yes sir," one the soldiers croaked.

"Where is it…………..there!"

"_beep_"

"There we go," she whispered.

"clunk……….."

The sound of the manhole covering hitting the sewer floor echoed throughout the sewer.

The covering splashed and a torrent of water poured in the hole

"Okay, this is where we go up now," Yuri said in his flat, Russian accent, nodding at the manhole above.

Leon spoke up, "Uh, how do you know this is the right manhole?"

"Yeah, what if we end up in a bunch of Combine?" This was Tanya.

"The Combine never come through here, this whole place is deserted."

"Is there a reason why this place is deserted?" Ada now asked.

"Listen," Patrick argued , "We've come through here tons of times and nothing bad has happened, and I'm willing to bet on my life that nothing will go wrong this time."

Fed up with waiting, Yuri just hauled himself out of the manhole, "Clear!"

Barney went up next, "Clear!"

After a few seconds, Ada decided to go up next and quipped, "Damn! I was just starting to get dry."

With the parting comment, she pulled herself out, "Clear!"

As she went towards Yuri and Barney, she heard them talking.

"I just don't trust her," Barney said.

"Who, Tanya?"

"Yes, her"

"Well, we'll just have to keep an eye on her then, okay?"

Barney nodded, "Okay."

Ada turned to see Leon help Tanya out of the manhole, as she saw this she thought,

"_This situation's going to explode soon_…._If not by the Combine, by us."_

Patrick saw Elaine pull herself out of the manhole.

"Clear!" she called.

Patrick sighed with relief, holstered his rifle and went to pull himself.

_Wait…_ a buzzing noise hit his ears and in City 17, that usually meant one thing.

"Shit," he breathed.

He hurriedly pulled himself out of the manhole and into the pouring rain of street level, then he hurriedly grabbed the manhole and clicked it into place.

_Whew,_ he thought.

He stood up and looked at every at everyone, standing between 2 ruined apartment blocks waiting for him, then he looked at Elaine, who he really liked and knew Elaine felt the same way, even if she tried to hide it.

Patrick shook his head, those thoughts were dangerous in situations like this, made you do irrational things, "Guys!" he yelled, "I think we've got comp-."

"_crack"_

A blinding pain blossomed in his knee-

"_crack"_

-and them his abdomen in quick succession

He collapsed to the ground, now realizing he had lost his bet with fate.

Elaine screamed as Patrick fell.

A bloody hole in his blown-apart knee, another in his stomach, blood spurting and seeping from his wounds.

The rational part of her knew he wasn't dead, no, not by a long shot, with his screaming, moaning, his clawing at his knee and stomach.

"Crap, c'mon people!" Yuri ordered.

Elaine turned to Yuri, then to Patrick.

Yuri shook his head, "No you can't, its not worth it!"

Elaine stared at the group, then at Patrick.

"Maybe not to you," she muttered.

Elaine made her choice.

"_Here we go_..._" _Ada thought.

Elaine ran, as everyone else quickly ducked behind cover, bullets whizzing around her, slid to Patrick's side and hoisted him up.

"I can always rely on you, can't I?" Patrick spluttered, blood coming out of his mouth.

"Where is he?" Barney yelled.

Ada peered around the corner, "Uhhhhhhhhh, 3rd building on the right, 2nd floor, center window."

"Gotcha." Barney slowly leaned around the corner, then opened fire, bullets chewing away at wood and brickwork, causing the sniper to go behind cover.

Ada saw Elaine and Patrick make it to safety.

"_whew,_" she thought..

Barney ran dry, ducking back behind cover, then suddenly, without warning, Leon took his former place, and one-handed aimed and fired his grenade gun.

The resulting explosion took out the center window, surrounding brickwork and, of course, the Combine sniper. Then the roof of the room collapsed on top, ruining any chance of survival for the sniper.

Barney, irate, turned to face Leon, "You had a grenade launcher?"

"Apparently."

Elaine threw aside the used morphine syringe and bandaged up his blown-apart knee.

Patrick's moans intensified, the pain already starting to break through his morphine-induced high.

Elaine swore, now remembering something about combine sniper bullets, they started to blossom and expand out.

She reached into her medkit and pulled out a thick leather glove, put it on and with no other choice stuck her hand in Patrick's stomach wound.

Her entire hand and wrist made squelching sounds as she felt around muscles and organs then, finally she clasped the bullet.

Elaine slowly pulled her hand out of Pat's stomach cavity, well aware that this was doing more damage then good to him but it was better then the alternative, she had experience in these matters. Then out her hand came, clasping the bullet, sticky with blood and gore.

Patrick's eyes were starting to roll back into his head, his skin was feverish and shoulders twitching.

"Just hold on," she muttered.

Elaine put the bullet, now looking like a razor-sharp rose, in her pocket and grabbed her last morphine syringe from her medkit. She pulled of the plastic cap, tapped the mixture then injected it straight into a vein.

After several seconds, Patrick's shoulders stopped moving and his eyes rolled back into their normal position.

Elaine was pulled out of her own world by Leon, "Elaine, is he gone?"

Elaine blinked a couple of times then replied, "No! He's not, we just need to get him to a medical facility and he'll be fine!" she snapped.

"clack"

Elaine turned and found herself facing side-on into the barrel of a pistol.

"What the-" Elaine said, staring at the would-be shooter, Tanya.

"Tanya, what the fuck?" Leon asks, wide-eyed.

"Come on!" Tanya snapped, "that was just a sniper, but yous all know that their coming."

"So?!" Barney yelled, "do you suggest we just leave him to die?"

"No, I suggest we cap him right now." Tanya suggested, clicking off her gun's safety-

just as Ramirez snapped, bringing up his SMG to Tanya's head, "Back off."

There was several seconds of silence, only broken by the pouring rain everywhere and Patrick's slight moans, he was apparently unaware of his predicament thanks to his reinforced morphine-induced high.

The rain pooled on the ground, dripping down stoic faces, splashing off exposed guns and generally annoying every living creature in its path.

Yuri glanced at Barney, who did a 'see?' gesture, to which Yuri just nodded.

"Come on," Tanya pleaded, "he'll only slow us down."

No, fuck off," Ramirez roared, "I've known Pat for over 15 years and I'm not just going let you cap him right here."

"Tanya, step the fuck down, or I will shoot you as well." Barney snapped.

Tanya's finger depressed on the trigger.

"click"

"You do it, you die," Ramirez hissed.

"Step down Tanya!"

Tanya's finger depr-

"Fine."

Tanya pulled her gun away and dropped it on the ground.

"Have it your way."

His eyes slowly opened, his body full of weariness, but this quickly wore off when he realized, or more likely, did not realize where he was.

"Huh? Where am I?"

"Missssssssster Shepard, why back so sssssoon?"

Adrian Shepard looked up and saw G-Man.

"Oh crap."

Adrian looked out a window and just saw black.

"Ohhhhhh crap."

"Now Missssster Shepard did you would think I would jussst let you die like that, did you? Not after I invesssssted so much in getting you out of Black Messsssa alive, it had ssssomething to do with your ability to "adapt and ssssssurvive against all oddsssss" I believe.

"Now we have nothing to wasssste but time."

Adrian finally realized where he was, the same Osprey that got him into this whole mess.

"Great, just great."


End file.
